From the Chaplain

It is Impossible for God to Lie!

Police officers deal with many unsavory characters. No one can disagree with that. Perhaps, the most pervasive challenge is knowing when they can trust someone. To put it bluntly, police officers are lied to profusely and this feature of their profession makes it increasingly difficult for them to trust anyone. Even unwittingly they begin to put their guard up because it has subtly become a way of life.

There is One, however, who can never lie and in whom we can always depend – Jesus Christ. The apostle John called Jesus the “faithful witness” (Revelation 1:5). He is the faithful witness because he always tells the truth. In fact, the author of Hebrews relates that it is “impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:17).

What a comforting and disarming truth to know that God cannot lie! Not so with mankind – the Scriptures make every man (and woman) culpable in this matter. They declare “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies” (Psalm 58:3). Experientially, we know this to be true. We do not have to teach a child how to lie. It comes naturally to them. Rather, we train them to speak the truth.

On the other hand, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5). Consequently, “every word of God is pure: he is a shield to them that put their trust in him” (Proverbs 30:5). We can stand upon his word because it is truth and he cannot lie. Coming full circle to Christ, the faithful witness, we do well to note his exchange with Pilate when he stood before him on the morning of his crucifixion. Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king and he replied that he was. But then Christ added this remarkable testimony concerning himself. He said “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth” (John 18:37).

To what truth does he refer? John answers that for us. “This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. He that believeth not the record that God gave of his Son hath made him (God) a liar” (I John 5:10-12). Remember, God cannot lie. Believe him and all will be well.

The Inevitability of Death

In his teaching on the resurrection to the Corinthian believers, Paul makes two statements that give insight to the origin and universality of death. “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (I Corinthians 15:21-22; emphasis added).

Death is real. It happens to each and it will happen to all. None are excluded. The Scriptures teach plainly “it is appointed unto men once to die” (Hebrews 9:27). As we saw above, the Apostle Paul reminds us that death came by man. When God created Adam and Eve, he placed them in the Garden of Eden to dress and to keep it. He gave them provision and prohibition. “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).

We know that Eve ate of that tree, gave of it to her husband and he did eat also. They both disobeyed God’s prohibition – she through deception by the serpent and Adam deliberately. Their sin brought death to them both. Though spiritual death was immediate, physical death was not. Even so, the process of death began in them. Death has prevailed upon every man and woman since that time for “in Adam all die.” And so it is that death came by man.

Paul writes elsewhere “Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Nothing quite testifies to our sin nature and consequent sinfulness like the presence of death. Every funeral, every cemetery testifies to our sin. We have all sinned; therefore, death comes upon all. We are literally born “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).

The universality of death is what makes the resurrection of Christ so precious for “in Christ shall all be made alive.” As we were born into sin and its inevitable death by our relationship to Adam, so through the new birth are we made alive by our relationship to Jesus Christ. Christ conquered death for us. It is his blood shed on the cross that satisfies the claims of the law upon us and removes the sting of death. Christ is life (John 14:6) and he gives life to all that come unto him. Jesus states plainly “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

While death is inevitable for each, it cannot hold the Christian. The believer need never fear death for “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). To live beyond the fear of death is to live indeed!

Not Giving Way to a Spirit of Fear

Solomon wrote “Boast not thyself of tomorrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1, emphasis added). These words have never been truer than they are today. The expectation of a “routine” day has been shattered. Even a simple trip to the grocery store has the promise of anything but certainty. The specter of the unknown rattles our thinking and we find ourselves scrutinizing events and circumstances that would otherwise belong to the mundane operations of our sub-conscious. Fear comes into play more than it ever did and we feel defenseless against its sudden rise – or so we think.

That many of us feel this way in these times is not surprising. But for the child of God, we need not allow those feelings to reign. Paul reminded timid Timothy that “God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). The child of God is not immune to fear, but rather overcomes it.

The word “power” speaks to the enabling that is effective in dismantling the shackles of fear and, thus, allowing the believer to do or say what the situation genuinely requires. Courage then is not the absence of fear, but rather the boldness to act while staring it in the face. Furthermore, fear is focused on self and immobilizes the will to act. God couples with that spirit of power a love that quenches self-interest. This love governs the use of that power or enabling for good. Love always does what is good, what is best, what is right for that is the very nature of love. I am reminded often that I need not like someone, but I must always love them.

Finally, God channels the operation of power and love through the grid of a disciplined or “sound” mind. Our grip on truth must be held firmly and not dislodged by our emotions so that we may act and not react. Solomon wrote, “He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding, but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly (Proverbs 14:29).

Child of God, the Savior wants to use us as channels of his grace and truth in these trying times. We must not let fear disengage us from our God-appointed opportunities, whether small or large. We must play the part and not give way to fear. May we resolve to follow Him, trust Him, and serve Him.

They Were First Called Christians

Luke records for us, “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). The word “Christian” simply means “little Christ.” It is not rocket science to understand the significance of people referring to Jesus’ disciples as Christians – they behaved like him in word and deed. That is at the heart of what it means to be a disciple. To follow Christ is to strive to imitate him.

The natural question follows, i.e. how do I follow Christ? What does that really mean? Those that know Christ, i.e. those that would be called Christian, are those that obey him. John instructs us plainly in this matter. “Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (I John 2:3-4). This is the acid test of Biblical Christianity – obedience to the word of God.

If you can take or leave the Bible; if it is of no consequence to you; if you don’t actively seek to know it that you might obey it, then John calls that person a liar. Being a Christian is more than just going to church on Sunday morning because everyone else in your community does so or that’s how you grew up. That is cultural Christianity – not Biblical Christianity. It is one thing to conform to one’s culture. It is a completely different matter to be conformed to the word of God.

Paul made the choice between cultural and Biblical conformity plain in his admonition to believers in Rome. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye…be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2). To follow Christ then is to resist being conformed to this world – its affections, its thinking, and its pursuits. Rather, we are to be made like unto Christ by the word of God changing our thinking and, consequently, our behavior!

Friend, these two paths are headed in completely different directions and directly opposed to each other. One path is the path of life and the other is the path of death. Which path are you following?

God is For Me!

We read in the Scriptures that Jesus Christ “is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world” (I John 2:2). Propitiation is a theological term that describes God’s response to the sacrifice of his Son on our behalf. It is the only word among those that describe our salvation that is actually directed toward God. The believer is forgiven, reconciled, justified, sanctified, glorified, but it is God and God alone that is propitiated.

Propitiation answers the just wrath of an all holy God against the sin of his creation. Our sin, both yours and mine, demands death and eternal separation from this holy Creator. Yet, in the eternal plan of God the Father, Christ the Son suffered that death in the sinner’s place and his blood has been offered up in full payment for that sin. God has looked upon that blood and declared it sufficient. That is, every claim that a righteous law could make against a violating sinner has been satisfied – payment in full. And God is propitiated!

Because God is propitiated, he is free to forgive the repentant sinner on the merits of Christ’s sacrifice. It is here at the cross where the righteousness of the law and the mercy of God meet. With the sin question settled, God is now for me and as Paul wrote to the believers at Rome, “If God be for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31)? What an awesome thought, i.e. God is for me! I am no longer his enemy because of my sin and the object of his just wrath. Rather, God is for me! Truly, who then can be against me?

To be forgiven is the greatest evidence of commitment that can be known. Consequently, those who have been forgiven know this promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). There are many enemies and circumstances that will oppose the child of God in this world not to mention our own failures that beset us. But God is for us and he will not abandon his child. Believe it; live in its light; do not doubt it no matter the darkness. As one old preacher wisely said, “God and you make a majority!”

Perhaps, you’re reading this and do not know the blessing of sins forgiven. As the Scriptures have declared and I have shared here, Christ is the “propitiation …for the sins of the whole world.” That propitiation includes your sins. Believe in Christ and know that your sin debt has been satisfied.

Former Things

I would think that most Christians, i.e. true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, are familiar with the promise of God found at the end of the book of Revelation. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). It is the absence of these “former things” that distinguishes the new heaven and new earth from our present one. As John points out, they are passed away – gone forever!

Our lives in this present world are inescapably touched by such things – things that hurt, that separate, that disappoint, that cause sorrow, crying, pain. We cannot outrun these things. They are as much a part of our lives as sunshine and rain, summer and winter, night and day. In many cases we have no control over them. Yet in many cases we ourselves are the cause of them.

But, oh, the promise that is ours! There shall be no more death – the ultimate separation. We shall never again stand over the silent grave of a loved one. Separation and the fear of death that would seek to rise in our own hearts shall be crushed forever. There are no cemeteries in the new earth!

There is nothing there that causes anguish of soul, that gives sorrow to the heart, that robs us of our speech and leaves nothing in its place but sobbing and bowing of the head. There is no relationship there marred by estrangement and its consequent grief. Sin and its effects are forever banished.

There is no disappointment there, for every expectation is found and met in Jesus Christ who is altogether lovely. And tears, the offspring of these “former things” are wiped away eternally by the omnipotent hand of God himself.

Yes, these things now will be former things then. But for now, these things are our lot. They batter us, bruise us, crush us, scar us. But someday, for those that know Christ, they will be former things. Friend, is that your hope? Sin has had its way with this world and those that dwell therein. But Christ came to take away our sins and give us a living hope. He gives peace in the midst of these things and is preparing a place where peace shall reign for the Prince of Peace himself is there. Do you know him?

Have You Considered This?

This past week we celebrated Christmas. I imagine that most, if not all, have some concept of what is the true meaning of Christmas. But have we really stopped to consider the truth of the matter? Every year it seems our senses to its wonder dull just a little bit more. The decorations, the sales, the TV specials grow all too familiar packing an already full life. We enjoy the houses all lit up and when we see a manger scene here and there, we mentally assent to its place in the celebration. Perhaps, the aura of Christmas as we recall it and would like it to be has been diminished because we have forgotten the wonder of the very first Christmas.

Just for a moment consider this brief scriptural testimony to a small but significant aspect of that historical event some 2,000 years ago. “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).

Have you considered that Mary was with child though she was a virgin? She was pregnant though she knew not a man. To our understanding this is stupefying. We cannot explain it from our limited human comprehension. Yes, there are such things as in vitro fertilization in today’s medical world, but in Bethlehem there was no such thing. She became pregnant without any human intervention – a miracle if ever there was one!

Have you considered that her child was the eternal God incarnated, i.e. made in human flesh? Her baby was no ordinary child for the Scripture said “that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Isaiah had foretold hundreds of years earlier “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (Isaiah 7:14). Let that resonate in your mind and heart – God with us. God, the Creator, took on human flesh and was born of a virgin.

This leads me to the greatest question, i.e. have you considered why He did this? The passage above reminds us that Joseph would call “his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” This God humbled Himself to take on human flesh that He might be as one of us. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). Jesus came to die in our place for our sins that He, as Matthew records, might “save his people from their sins.”

“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4). Consider this…

The Self-Existent One

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Psalm 90:2). What an incomprehensible thought, i.e. “from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God!” God has always been and always will be. We struggle to get our head around that concept, but we just cannot fully grasp it. We cannot comprehend something with no beginning. We ourselves had a beginning; the earth had a beginning; but God had no beginning. He always existed – and will continue to do so.

Moses, who wrote Psalm 90, was introduced to this truth when God met him in the wilderness while he was tending his sheep in the desert. After God commissioned him to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt, Moses asked God “when I say unto them, the God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say unto me, what is his name? What shall I say unto them? God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you” (Exodus 3:13-14). In essence, God told Moses that the self-existent One sent him to them.

Unlike us, God depends on nothing for his existence. We depend on air, food, light, water, etc. God needs none of these. He exists independent from everything else. No surprise there – the Creator exists prior to and independent from His creation. His self-existence is an attribute of his deity. That is why in that same Psalm above, Moses concludes “thou art God.”

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, claimed for himself this same self-existence. When the Pharisees challenged his testimony concerning himself, they declared they were of Abraham’s seed, but knew not his origin. After a lengthy discourse with them, he confronted them with this conclusion, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). The Jews, knowing the significance of his declaration, took up stones to stone him.

God’s unique self-existence makes him worthy of our praise. There is none like unto him. He stands apart from all time and circumstance and, consequently, there are no boundaries or limitations upon him. And so he declares to Jeremiah, “I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:27). His name, Jehovah, translated here as “LORD” means the self-existent One. We can be confident that our God can do anything to meet the need of his children. What a comfort and hope that though I am bound by my circumstances and the limitations of my own flesh, there is nothing too hard for God, my Savior. Is he not worthy of our praise?

A Sure Rest

Nothing stokes the fires of covetousness and discontent like holiday advertising! I really didn’t know how unfulfilled my life was until that television commercial roused my dissatisfaction. How quickly sixty seconds can paint needs that did not exist previously! Is this unsatisfied itch for things not true in every one of our lives to one degree or another? Yes, it is so. But how can we escape? After all, we live in a society where the god of materialism reigns. How can I not bow at its altar? The key lies in recognizing and laying hold of the source of true and lasting satisfaction – Jesus Christ.

Our quest for things is a quest born of unfulfilled desire. We long for something, yet we know not what. We find momentary pleasure and satisfaction in the acquisition of material things. Yet this satisfaction is fleeting. It is a pursuit marked by futility. Jesus said “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15). Since that is true, in what then does man’s life consist?

Christ goes on in his teaching about “things” to answer that question. He says “Seek ye the kingdom of God…for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:31, 34). The point is lasting satisfaction cannot be found in what this world offers. We must look to the next world! Paul wrote to the believers in Colossae, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). More specifically we must set our affection on Christ himself who is the center of all things above. Bridging these two spheres of activity, the Psalmist wrote, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee” (Psalm 73:25).

In order to set my affection on things above, Christ, the coming King, must rule in my heart now on earth. His word must fill my mind shaping my thoughts and directing my steps. His loves must become my loves and, yes, his hates must become my hates. Our lives are then lived in his presence as to an audience of one.

To know Christ is to love Christ. To love Christ is to be satisfied with him and him alone, both now and always. As a believer, we can only be satisfied with Christ when we choose to be. Oftentimes, the cares of this world (Mark 4:19) eclipse our vision of him. We struggle to be content with things that were never designed to bring contentment. Augustine of Hippo said “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in thee.” So very true! Tell me, friend, where do you look for rest?